The PCMag article specifically addresses signal strength (dBm) ... along with transmission speeds at that signal level. I am not sure how you can deny that.
It has been my experience that if I am in a limited coverage area, in my area, as defined by say OpenSignal, the XS scores at or above the average reported.
Connectivity issues would translate into lower transmission rates reported (no connectivity implies no transmission) and hence averages would be lower. As shown in the reports, the XS series reports higher transmission rates than prior generations.
I respectfully disagree with your overall conclusion.
I do agree however that sometimes the carrier profiles seem to direct the phone to use a band that may not have as much signal strength. (Lower signal strength however does not imply lower transmission rates depending on the band.) This is the carrier however and not necessarily the fault of the phone. This would go for any phone.
Good debate.
Show me where in the PC Mag article that it compares LTE RSRP values between phones on the same cell site, sector, and LTE band?
You are hell bent on transmission rates. That is not at all what I am talking about. All that article does is show the transmission rates/speeds at a given RSRP value. Not what each phone has for RSRP values in a given spot.
Guaranteed if you get pretty much any recent Android phone or a Qualcomm iPhone 8 and compare LTE RSRP dBm levels for both phones while in the exact same spot on the exact same cell site/sector/band you will see a noticeable difference with the new iPhones being anywhere from 3 - 9 dBm lower.
Example: I have an iPhone XS Max in one spot where it gets a -110 dBm value on band 4. Lets say I get 30 mbps there - great. Lets say a Galaxy S10 has a -104 dBm RSRP on the same site/sector/band and gets 30 mbps. Now lets say I walk down in my basement and the iPhone XS Max drops down to a -105 dBm value on band 12 due to it not picking up band 4 anymore and as a result of being on the crowded LTE band speeds lower to .5 mbps. Meanwhile the Galaxy S10 is still on band 4 with a -115 dBm signal and pulling 20 mbps.
See the difference?